Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 16 of 19

Thread: 2 different core counts on the 7950?

  1. #1
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    91
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    6 times in 5 posts
    • Djini's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI Z68A-GD55
      • CPU:
      • i5 2500K @4.7GHz
      • Memory:
      • 8GB
      • Storage:
      • 500GB SATA3 + 64GB OCZ Agility 3 intel RSD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI GTX 680
      • Case:
      • Lian Li Aluminium
      • Operating System:
      • Win 7 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • iiyama Prolite E2409HDS
      • Internet:
      • 60Gbps (Virgin)

    Post 2 different core counts on the 7950?

    Majority of Radeon 7950 cards have 1792 cores, but the MSI 7950 has 1920 cores.

    Can someone explain why their card appears to have these extra, and what they do/ what difference it might make?

    I can't link, not got the post count sorry!

  2. #2
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Gateshead
    Posts
    15,196
    Thanks
    1,231
    Thanked
    2,291 times in 1,874 posts
    • scaryjim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Dell Inspiron
      • CPU:
      • Core i5 8250U
      • Memory:
      • 2x 4GB DDR4 2666
      • Storage:
      • 128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Radeon R5 230
      • PSU:
      • Battery/Dell brick
      • Case:
      • Dell Inspiron 5570
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • 15" 1080p laptop panel

    Re: 2 different core counts on the 7950?

    I assume you're looking at this card from scan?

    All 7950s are made from salvaged / binned 7970 dice (the actual piece of silicon at the heart of a GPU is called a die), which means the silicon has 2048 cores on it. Usually, 256 are fused off (i.e. disabled) to create a 7950, typically because those sections of the silicon have a flaw that means they don't work properly. It is *possible* that MSI have decided to enable some of the cores that are normally fused off, presumably because in their testing they worked properly. If it's correct, it means the MSI card has just over 7% more shading power, which would probably equate to it being up to 5% faster in some games (it would depend heavily on the game in question).

    This wouldn't be entirely unusual - a lot of 6950 cards were perfectly good 6970 dice that were disabled in software simply because AMD needed to fulfil stock of 6950s. However, I don't believe that any AMD partners released a 6950 with a different core-count to the official version. It's quite a bold step from MSI.

  3. #3
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    91
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    6 times in 5 posts
    • Djini's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI Z68A-GD55
      • CPU:
      • i5 2500K @4.7GHz
      • Memory:
      • 8GB
      • Storage:
      • 500GB SATA3 + 64GB OCZ Agility 3 intel RSD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI GTX 680
      • Case:
      • Lian Li Aluminium
      • Operating System:
      • Win 7 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • iiyama Prolite E2409HDS
      • Internet:
      • 60Gbps (Virgin)

    Re: 2 different core counts on the 7950?

    Well I've ordered one. I'll have to post some scores on it when it's all built.

    PS: The Spec sheet from MSI http://media.msi.com/main.php?g2_ite...geViewsIndex=1

  4. #4
    Senior Member Pob255's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The land of Brum
    Posts
    10,128
    Thanks
    605
    Thanked
    1,220 times in 1,121 posts
    • Pob255's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus M5A99X EVO
      • CPU:
      • FX8350 & CM Hyper 212+
      • Memory:
      • 4 x 2gb Corsair Vengence 1600mhz cas9
      • Storage:
      • 512gb samsung SSD +1tb Samsung HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EGVA GTX970
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic GX 650W
      • Case:
      • HAF 912+
      • Operating System:
      • W7 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • iiyama XB3270QS-B1 32" IPS 1440p

    Re: 2 different core counts on the 7950?

    As scaryjim said, Ati isn't the only one who does this, the gtx560 and gtx560ti are the same it's just that bad cores have been masked off. (note the gtx560ti 448core is actually the same as the gtx580 it's just got too many faulty core to be masked off to the gtx570 level so they made a new card out of it.)

    Also, due to the way production quoters are estimated in advance, sometimes chips with working cores will get masked off just to meet the quoters.

    Must say it's a bold move by MSI to offer unlocked cards, brands have generally avoided this because of the risks involved eg a core might of been masked off because it only fails under load, which will lead to a rather unstable card.
    Don't get me wrong I love the way you can sometimes unlock a card and get a free performance bump out of it but one person doing it to one card is rather different than a company getting enough safely unlockable chips to release it as a model.

  5. #5
    Pork & Beans Powerup Phage's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Kent
    Posts
    6,260
    Thanks
    1,618
    Thanked
    608 times in 518 posts
    • Phage's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Crosshair VIII
      • CPU:
      • 3800x
      • Memory:
      • 16Gb @ 3600Mhz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 960 512Gb + 2Tb Samsung 860
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA 1080ti
      • PSU:
      • BeQuiet 850w
      • Case:
      • Fractal Define 7
      • Operating System:
      • W10 64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Iiyama GB3461WQSU-B1

    Re: 2 different core counts on the 7950?

    Misprint ?

    Guru 3d says 1792 "The R7950 is packed with 1792 shader processors harbored in Compute Units segments (28 of them). "
    http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-ra...r-iii-review/2

    Ditto at TP
    http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/M...win_Frozr_III/

    Just saw slightly different model.
    Society's to blame,
    Or possibly Atari.

  6. #6
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    91
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    6 times in 5 posts
    • Djini's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI Z68A-GD55
      • CPU:
      • i5 2500K @4.7GHz
      • Memory:
      • 8GB
      • Storage:
      • 500GB SATA3 + 64GB OCZ Agility 3 intel RSD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI GTX 680
      • Case:
      • Lian Li Aluminium
      • Operating System:
      • Win 7 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • iiyama Prolite E2409HDS
      • Internet:
      • 60Gbps (Virgin)

    Re: 2 different core counts on the 7950?

    Don't know Phage. I've bought one, so when I plug it in I'll update the thread with my findings.

    The extra cores turns it into a (sort of) 7960 (i.e. between the 7950 and 7970 ).

    It's mentioned in a few tests as 1920 (and 1792 so I think they're not looking at the actual card either way and just quoting reference literature ), and on MSI's own website. Look for MSI R7950-2PMD3GD5/OC The Frozr III is a different card although they announced that has 1920 too (http://emm.msi.com/display.php?List=34&N=1585).
    Last edited by Djini; 20-02-2012 at 10:40 PM.

  7. #7
    Pork & Beans Powerup Phage's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Kent
    Posts
    6,260
    Thanks
    1,618
    Thanked
    608 times in 518 posts
    • Phage's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Crosshair VIII
      • CPU:
      • 3800x
      • Memory:
      • 16Gb @ 3600Mhz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 960 512Gb + 2Tb Samsung 860
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA 1080ti
      • PSU:
      • BeQuiet 850w
      • Case:
      • Fractal Define 7
      • Operating System:
      • W10 64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Iiyama GB3461WQSU-B1

    Re: 2 different core counts on the 7950?

    Yes - I wonder what the facts are - Have you let GPUz have a look at it yet ?
    Society's to blame,
    Or possibly Atari.

  8. #8
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    91
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    6 times in 5 posts
    • Djini's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI Z68A-GD55
      • CPU:
      • i5 2500K @4.7GHz
      • Memory:
      • 8GB
      • Storage:
      • 500GB SATA3 + 64GB OCZ Agility 3 intel RSD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI GTX 680
      • Case:
      • Lian Li Aluminium
      • Operating System:
      • Win 7 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • iiyama Prolite E2409HDS
      • Internet:
      • 60Gbps (Virgin)

    Re: 2 different core counts on the 7950?

    I have to build it first Phage

  9. #9
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    91
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    6 times in 5 posts
    • Djini's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI Z68A-GD55
      • CPU:
      • i5 2500K @4.7GHz
      • Memory:
      • 8GB
      • Storage:
      • 500GB SATA3 + 64GB OCZ Agility 3 intel RSD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI GTX 680
      • Case:
      • Lian Li Aluminium
      • Operating System:
      • Win 7 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • iiyama Prolite E2409HDS
      • Internet:
      • 60Gbps (Virgin)

    Re: 2 different core counts on the 7950?

    Confirmed as 1792 cores.

  10. #10
    Pork & Beans Powerup Phage's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Kent
    Posts
    6,260
    Thanks
    1,618
    Thanked
    608 times in 518 posts
    • Phage's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Crosshair VIII
      • CPU:
      • 3800x
      • Memory:
      • 16Gb @ 3600Mhz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 960 512Gb + 2Tb Samsung 860
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA 1080ti
      • PSU:
      • BeQuiet 850w
      • Case:
      • Fractal Define 7
      • Operating System:
      • W10 64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Iiyama GB3461WQSU-B1

    Re: 2 different core counts on the 7950?


    Ah well - still a good card !
    Might be worth emailing Scan and letting them know.
    Society's to blame,
    Or possibly Atari.

  11. #11
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    91
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    6 times in 5 posts
    • Djini's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI Z68A-GD55
      • CPU:
      • i5 2500K @4.7GHz
      • Memory:
      • 8GB
      • Storage:
      • 500GB SATA3 + 64GB OCZ Agility 3 intel RSD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI GTX 680
      • Case:
      • Lian Li Aluminium
      • Operating System:
      • Win 7 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • iiyama Prolite E2409HDS
      • Internet:
      • 60Gbps (Virgin)

    Re: 2 different core counts on the 7950?

    I've emailed MSI too, and asked them to replace it with a card to the specification they advertise

    Should be a laugh!

  12. #12
    Pork & Beans Powerup Phage's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Kent
    Posts
    6,260
    Thanks
    1,618
    Thanked
    608 times in 518 posts
    • Phage's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Crosshair VIII
      • CPU:
      • 3800x
      • Memory:
      • 16Gb @ 3600Mhz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 960 512Gb + 2Tb Samsung 860
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA 1080ti
      • PSU:
      • BeQuiet 850w
      • Case:
      • Fractal Define 7
      • Operating System:
      • W10 64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Iiyama GB3461WQSU-B1

    Re: 2 different core counts on the 7950?

    Excellent. After all it's on the spec sheet as well !
    Let us know how you get on.
    Society's to blame,
    Or possibly Atari.

  13. #13
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Cambridge
    Posts
    283
    Thanks
    13
    Thanked
    24 times in 23 posts
    • timread's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI B450 Tomahawk Max
      • CPU:
      • AMD Ryzen 5 3600
      • Memory:
      • 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair DDR4 Vengeance LPX
      • Storage:
      • 1x WD Blue SN550 500GB M.2 NVMe SSD, , 1x Crucial MX500 1TB SSD, 2x WD 1TB HDD in RAID1
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 Ti WINDFORCE OC 6G
      • PSU:
      • EVGA SuperNOVA 750W Gold Gen2
      • Case:
      • Fractal Design Define R3 Arctic White
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • AOC 2590 G4, Dell U2412M
      • Internet:
      • VirginMedia

    Re: 2 different core counts on the 7950?

    Oh well. Hopefully MSI will see the funny side, get their act together and update their documentation (Scan too). You never know, they might just give you another one to CrossFire it as an apology for misleading you as a consumer /notlikely

    You've still got a great card there

  14. #14
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    91
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    6 times in 5 posts
    • Djini's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI Z68A-GD55
      • CPU:
      • i5 2500K @4.7GHz
      • Memory:
      • 8GB
      • Storage:
      • 500GB SATA3 + 64GB OCZ Agility 3 intel RSD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI GTX 680
      • Case:
      • Lian Li Aluminium
      • Operating System:
      • Win 7 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • iiyama Prolite E2409HDS
      • Internet:
      • 60Gbps (Virgin)

    Re: 2 different core counts on the 7950?

    Quote Originally Posted by timread View Post
    Oh well. Hopefully MSI will see the funny side, get their act together and update their documentation (Scan too). You never know, they might just give you another one to CrossFire it as an apology for misleading you as a consumer /notlikely

    You've still got a great card there
    I've simply asked that they issue me with an RMA for this 'faulty' board that has almost 10% less cores than they advertise, so they can ship out one with 1920 cores.

    They're free to send me a 7970 of course

  15. #15
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    91
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    6 times in 5 posts
    • Djini's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI Z68A-GD55
      • CPU:
      • i5 2500K @4.7GHz
      • Memory:
      • 8GB
      • Storage:
      • 500GB SATA3 + 64GB OCZ Agility 3 intel RSD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI GTX 680
      • Case:
      • Lian Li Aluminium
      • Operating System:
      • Win 7 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • iiyama Prolite E2409HDS
      • Internet:
      • 60Gbps (Virgin)

    Re: 2 different core counts on the 7950?

    OK so they're replied back saying they're sorry, and it was a mistake on the marketing department's part.

    I've thanked them for confirming they falsely advertised the card, but saying they're sorry isn't good enough.

    I've likened this to them selling me a car they advertise as having a 2.0L engine, which I buy and when I get it and look at the engine, it's only a 1.8L.

    They need to either give me a card of the spec they advertised, or better. I don't think I'm being unreasonable.

  16. #16
    Pork & Beans Powerup Phage's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Kent
    Posts
    6,260
    Thanks
    1,618
    Thanked
    608 times in 518 posts
    • Phage's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Crosshair VIII
      • CPU:
      • 3800x
      • Memory:
      • 16Gb @ 3600Mhz
      • Storage:
      • Samsung 960 512Gb + 2Tb Samsung 860
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA 1080ti
      • PSU:
      • BeQuiet 850w
      • Case:
      • Fractal Define 7
      • Operating System:
      • W10 64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Iiyama GB3461WQSU-B1

    Re: 2 different core counts on the 7950?

    You know. I think it might just work.
    Society's to blame,
    Or possibly Atari.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •